Sen. Ted Cruz and Rep. Colin Allred are making the final push toward voting in the hotly contested Texas Senate race. Eye on Politics reporter Jack Fink talks about this race and other major races to watch on election night. We also evaluate early voting rates in the Lone Star State to see how they compare to 2020. Our Texas Hearts series continues, asking voters across the state how they feel about this election. Jack covers these stories in the latest episode of Eye On Politics. (Original air date: November 3, 2024)
The final push to vote
Incumbent Republican Sen. Ted Cruz and Democratic Rep. Colin Allred are spending much of their time campaigning in North Texas in the final days before Election Day. Allred campaigned in Oak Cliff on Saturday and Dallas on Thursday, where he met with small business owners and former elected officials who support him. They include former Tarrant County Judge Glenn Whitley, a Republican, and two former Dallas mayors, Ron Kirk and Mike Rawlings, both Democrats. Executives praised Allred for working across politics, along with Rawlings, Kirk and Whitley. They also expressed concern about the state’s near-abortion ban and the belief that it has a negative impact on businesses looking to attract talent to move to Texas. Jack asked Rep. Allred how this concern applies to closing arguments to voters.
“Well, listen, if you want to talk about economics, this is part of economics,” Allred said.
“For me, for us to thrive, certain conditions must be in place, and one of them is basic freedoms. In this case, we have never been deprived of basic freedoms. We’re seeing the consequences, and they’re personal.”For us Texans, that includes our economic future, limited by the extremism promoted by Ted Cruz. We need to discuss how this will affect us, including whether or not it will affect us. He is uniquely responsible for this abortion ban. And many of the good economic investments we’re making in Texas aren’t because of him. You can get things done by making the senators that you’re trying to overcome to get things done part of who you are. ”
Sen. Cruz has campaigned in North Texas multiple times and was part of a 53-stop bus tour throughout the state. He is scheduled to speak in Weatherford on Thursday night, in Plano and Fort Worth on Friday, and hold a rally in Denton County on Monday afternoon. Cruz also attended an event hosted by former President Donald Trump in Austin over a week ago. Jack asked about Allred’s appearance with Vice President Kamala Harris in Houston and how Jack gave his closing argument to voters.
“When I saw the announcement that Colin Allred was going to perform with Kamala Harris in Houston today, they hugged each other and ran as one ticket. I actually retweeted I’m X and I’m Ted Cruz. , approved this message,” Cruz said.
“You want a very simple contrast. You have a simple contrast. If you like Kamala Harris’ open borders, if you like Kamala Harris’ inflation, Kamala Harris’ prison If you like prisoners and the crimes that come with them, Colin Allred is your guy because Colin Allred is Kamala Harris. Meanwhile, Peace and Prosperity in a time when Donald Trump was president, a Republican Senate, and a Republican House of Representatives. If you like, I ask you to vote. This is a record we’ve done before and will do more than anything President Trump and Harris will ever do arm in arm. , nothing sums up this campaign. It’s the clear choice for Texans, and it’s the clear choice for Americans.”
Jack also spoke with CBS News Texas’ panel of experts, former state Rep. Lorraine Villaville (D-Dallas), former railroad commissioner and former Texas Education Agency commissioner Michael Williams (R-Texas) State) also talked about the Senate race.
Read Jack’s full conversation with Lorraine Villaville and Michael Williams about the Senate race here.
Battleground state tracking
Days before the election, former President Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris are fighting to the political end, especially in the seven battleground states that will decide the winner.
Look at the battlefield tracker:
Other major races in North Texas
One of the most talked about issues on this fall’s ballot is Dallas, where there are 18 proposals to change the city charter. Among them are three proposals considered the most controversial: S, T, and U, which are part of the Dallas HERO initiative.
Proposition S would change the city charter to allow Dallas residents to sue the city to force city officials to comply with the city charter and ordinances. Proposition T would allow for a survey of residents to determine whether city managers can be fired or receive bonuses. Proposition U would, among other things, require the city to increase the number of police officers to 4,000 and keep it there.
There will also be three new members of Congress from North Texas who will be sworn in in January after Election Day. In the 12th Congressional District, Republican state Rep. Craig Goldman and Democrat Trey Hunt are vying for the seat vacated by longtime Republican congressman and former Fort Worth Mayor Kay Granger. There is. This district includes Tarrant and Parker counties.
In the 26th Congressional District, Republican Brandon Gill and Democrat Ernest Lineberger (Ward 3) are vying for the seat vacated by longtime Republican Michael Burgess.
In Dallas’ 32nd Congressional District and parts of Collin and Denton counties, Democratic state Rep. Julie Johnson and Republican former Arlington City Councilman Darrell Day are running for the next presidential election, along with state Rep. Collin Allred. Members of Congress are campaigning for the seats they currently hold. US Senate. This district includes portions of Denton County and surrounding counties.
Here in North Texas, there are also three Texas House seats we’re looking at.
In House District 70 Plano, Gov. Greg Abbott predicted that Republican Steve Kinard would wrest the seat from incumbent Democrat Mihaela Presa. She is supported by Representative Allred and former Representative Beto O’Rourke.
In House District 108, which includes Park City and Dallas, Democrat Elizabeth Ginsburg is running for the second time, aiming to unseat Republican incumbent Morgan Meyer. Governor Abbott recently campaigned for Meyer in Dallas.
The governor campaigned for re-election last week with Republican Congresswoman Angie Button. Button is running against Democrat Avery Bishop, a former Miss Texas, in the 112th Congressional District.
Evaluation of early voting rate
Early voting rates in Texas are not as high as they were in 2020 during the pandemic, when more people were able to vote by mail. On the Friday before the election, Jack spoke to Ross Hunt, a Dallas pollster and founder of Hunt Research, about early voting rates through October 31st, the penultimate day.
Check out the full interview with Jack and Ross Hunt.
More from CBS News
jack fink
